Hilary Clinton Press conference on Rockstar and GTA today

[Raziaar]

dont lecture me about comics, i've been reading them for over 30 years ...I'm well aware of the strides many americans have taken to legitmize their proffession: guys like Art spegielman, robert crumb, Wil Eisner, Harvey Pekar




again razaair you havent a cluue of what you're talking about ...comics without comic code authority stamps usually have a circulation of under 1000/month ...in comparison a marvel comic will often have a circulation of 14,000- 100,000 per month

Oh FORGIVE me if I'm not a comic book geek. Of course I don't know what i'm talking about. All i'm saying is american comics aren't as stifled as you think they are. If there was such a demand for those other books, they'd sell alot more. People would have to be stupid and pretentious not to buy something because it lacks a 'stamp'. Big whoop. If there was a demand for those comics, they'd sell better. There's simply alot more people out there who like marvel comics.

You're getting your panties in a bunch I think, regarding this whole GTA thing. Games aren't going to go anywhere or suffer because of this.

 

[No Limit]

Oh FORGIVE me if I'm not a comic book geek. Of course I don't know what i'm talking about. All i'm saying is american comics aren't as stifled as you think they are. If there was such a demand for those other books, they'd sell alot more. People would have to be stupid and pretentious not to buy something because it lacks a 'stamp'. Big whoop. If there was a demand for those comics, they'd sell better. There's simply alot more people out there who like marvel comics.

You're getting your panties in a bunch I think, regarding this whole GTA thing. Games aren't going to go anywhere or suffer because of this.

You are completely missing the point. The comics example has nothing to do with the stamp; its the fact that distibution channels would be limited and sales would greatly drop. If they gave GTA an adult only rating most stores would not carry it which would drop sales like a rock. This would force other game companies such as valve to not only censor themselves to avoid this but they might also be forced to not allow mods as it might happen to them. Its as simple as that.

 

[Raziaar]

You are completely missing the point. The comics example has nothing to do with the stamp; its the fact that distibution channels would be limited and sales would greatly drop. If they gave GTA an adult only rating most stores would not carry it which would drop sales like a rock. This would force other game companies such as valve to not only censor themselves to avoid this but they might also be forced to not allow mods as it might happen to them. Its as simple as that.

Fine... be concerned about it if you want to. Cower in fear. But me, I don't think anything is going to happen. Besides, the internet will soon become the main distribution method for video games. Internet connections are getting faster all the time, more and more people are stepping up to broadband.

But there's not even gonna be a need for internet distribution, because nothing will happen. There will always be dedicated video game stores that will always carry nearly every game. So what if the walmarts, best buys, and compusa's of the world phase them out? They'd hurt from the loss of revenue if that ever came to happen, and they'd quickly continue it again. Dedicated videogaming companies and stores, which sell the vast majority of games, like ebgames, gamestop, etc... will always carry games, no matter their content.

 

[A True Canadian]

Rules and regulations obstruct creative freedom, which in turn degrades and delves the medium into semblance, which as a result makes the entertainment all the more similar in style and execution. Games will be required to follow certain guidelines that will (i think) result in video games becoming too similar to each other. If games start becoming pretty identical, then the thrill and excitement is no longer there, and the consumers will seek out other alternatives.

The example of the comic book industry is that the comics became too dry, lacking the creativity that made them so enjoyable before they were seemingly brought to a standstill by the new restrictions. If this happens to the gaming industry, you'll see a lot of "clones" out there (with different stories and characters, but with the same dull and censored gameplay).

Interesting gameplay mechanics, like blowing up a human body, playing the villian, and even ingame profanity, could go the wayside depending on how far these people are willing to go in their restrictions. As of now they seem focused on preventing games with "mature" themes get into the hands of children, but even with ESRB ratings and stores preventing children from buying said games, they still don't think it's enough. Soon they will either ban these types of games from everyone, or enforce a policy to make sure these types of themes aren't duplicated again. If it becomes the law, it won't matter if it's distibuted on the Internet or not because the companies could easily get shut down. What's scary is that they actually could win.